Broncos All-Time Roster: Tom Nalen tops centers
Jul 18, 2021, 12:43 PM
The Denver Broncos have seen a plethora of talented players since the merger of the American and National Football Leagues in 1970.
While it may be easy for Broncos Country to explain why a particular quarterback or running back is the best of his generation, this list is here to tackle which Broncos players are the best of all time.
Every Fan host was tasked with ranking top Broncos players’ skillsets to come up with the greatest Broncos roster.
This all-time roster will have a few no-brainers on it, but ultimately the Fan hosts decided who was the best of the best.
Here is the Broncos’ all-time roster at center.
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Top Three:
1. Tom Nalen
2. Matt Paradis
3. Billy Brian
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Tom Nalen
Tom Nalen was drafted in the seventh round out of Boston College. In the twelve seasons following his rookie campaign Nalen only missed 10 total games (with 9 of those coming in 2002).
His 15-season NFL career included five Pro Bowl selections, three First-team All-Pro selections and two Super Bowl Championships.
In his twelve seasons as a full-time starter, there were 10 1,000-yard rushers for Denver from six different running backs. Nalen is in the Broncos Ring of Fame and was named to the Broncos’ 50th Anniversary Team.
Matt Paradis
Matt Paradis was drafted as a sixth-round pick out of Boise State with the Broncos in 2014. He was the team’s starting center since 2015 until he signed with the Carolina Panthers in 2019.
Paradis started every game from 2015-17 and was on his way to another season without missing a snap until a fractured fibula ended his 2018 campaign.